Complaint filed on judge who changed baby's name

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Wisconsin-based nonprofit association of atheists and agnostics says it has filed a complaint against a Tennessee magistrate for changing a baby's name from Messiah to Martin.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation sent a letter to the Board of Judicial Conduct on Wednesday accusing Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew of violating the state's Code of Judicial Conduct.

In her order, Ballew explained the change by saying that “'Messiah' is a title that is held only by Jesus Christ.”

The controversy started when the boy's mother, Jaleesa Martin, sought an order to establish paternity. It included a request for the judge to determine the child's last name.

When Ballew learned Messiah's first name, she decided it should be changed, too, saying the child could face problems with the name Messiah.

The name on his birth certificate was Messiah DeShawn Martin.

The judge changed it to Martin DeShawn McCullough, giving the boy his father's last name while replacing Messiah with his mother's surname.

“The word messiah is a title, and it's a title has only been earned by one person, and that one person is Jesus Christ,” she later explained in an interview with a local TV station.

Messiah is not a traditional English name, but it is becoming more popular. It was No. 4 among the fastest-rising baby names in 2012, just ahead of King but behind Major at No. 1, according to the Social Security Administration's annual list of popular baby names.

And other religious names are very common, such as Mohammed in Islamic culture and Jesus in Hispanic culture.

Asked about the name Jesus, Ballew said it was not relevant to the current case.

A number of countries have rules about what are acceptable baby names.

In Iceland this year, a girl won a court battle to legally use the name given to her by her mother.

Blaer means “light breeze” in Icelandic, but authorities, who decided it was not a proper feminine name, referred to her in government documents as “Girl.”

Hedy Weinberg, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, said the U.S. is different because of the First Amendment.

“Parents, not the government, have the right to name a child,” she said. “The judge cannot impose her faith on those who come into her courtroom.”